The Marrow Alchemist: Episode 1: Pilot
by TeamAquaSuicune
Summary: Dreaming to join the state military, Daniel and Naomi Sullivan, victims in a transmutation freak-accident, travel far and wide to complete their goal. However, strange events occur in their journey, could this be the opening to a greater adventure?
1. Prologue

Daniel Sullivan, a boy about seven years old, sat carelessly on the back porch of a small gray house

Daniel Sullivan, a boy about seven years old, sat carelessly on the back porch of a small gray house. His blue eyes followed the small bouncy-ball as he picked it up in midair and then dropped it again. His short black hair rustled a bit as he shook his head in the amusement. The grass below him, swaying in the light breeze, was golden in the reflection of the sunset. Surprisingly, he had one of the many lucky houses with a back lawn. As he continued to bounce the ball, he looked behind him to see if anyone was there, but all he saw was the dark concrete road and the houses up ahead. He groaned as he dropped the ball one last time. "Why ain't she here yet...?" the boy grumbled. The ball rolled off the dark wooden porch and rolled in the grass. His twin sister, Naomi, promised him that she would be out to play with him as soon as she finished eating dinner. Normally, she would finish eating before he did, but it's been ten minutes since he finished his meal. Daniel sighed and took a leap off the porch to retrieve the ball.

As he leaned of to pick it up, he checked his surroundings for any other entertainment. He glanced at the tree in front of him, thinking to climb it; but risking another pair of pants would not be worth an angry mother. Next to the tree was the old shed, however, Daniel twitched when he saw it. According to mother, no one was allowed in there; he learned it the hard way. Last time he was caught in there, he couldn't sit down for a good week. Although he never understood why his mother was so adamant about not letting anyone in there. There was nothing in there except maybe an old shovel or something. The only thing he found slightly unusual was a circular line of chalk on the floor. Breaking his concentration over the small shed, a door from the front of the house could be heard creaking open. Naomi must have finished supper now. Grinning, he pumped his fist into the air and rushed towards the picket fence separating the backyard from the front.

Naomi stood at the small gate; her little fingers struggled to unlock the latch of the door. She was a petite girl for her age. Her black hair slightly touched her extremely pale shoulders. Kids would tease her about her skin color, asking if she haunts people at night or throw white sheets over her. Even her friends would poke fun at her about it from time to time; so the spot she felt most comfortable with is being home with her brother, even though he was slightly darker than she was. Though they had no problems with the way they looked, they could never figure why they looked the way they did. Their pale skin and black hair compared nothing to their mother, as she had brown wavy hair and an average skin tone. Not even the eye colors matched. Naomi waved at her brother as she finally opened the gate and headed towards him.

Trying to make a scene, Daniel lifted his head high and began tapping his foot, "What took you so long?" the boy pouted; but about anyone could tell it was a fake pout.  
Naomi giggled, she proceeded to scratch the back of her head, "Sorry I was late, Danny. Mom had to talk with me about something."  
Her brother sighed, "You were whining about the broccoli again, weren't you?"  
Naomi stopped scratching and stalled "...Actually, no."  
Daniel tilted his head back to regular position, in wonder. "Really? What the heck were you talking about then?"  
The girl looked up at the orange-pink sky "She was asking me if I would like to have a daddy."

Daniel paused; he had never actually thought of that before. Now that she mentioned it, they never did meet their father. Some kids would tease them about it when Naomi mentioned it in school a long time ago, but those were the bullies of the school, so it really didn't matter to them. Out of curiosity, Daniel asked, "So, whaddya say to her?"  
She placed her hands on her little waist, "I said it would be cool to have a dad."  
Her brother crossed his arms in ponder, when she popped in the question, "What about you, Danny? Don't you think it'd be cool if we had a dad?"  
He shrugged carelessly, "Eh, I don't think it'd make a difference."  
Naomi placed her hands under her elbows and tilted her head, "You really think so?" Her brother nodded.

That's when their mother called Daniel through the window. He looked at his mother with surprise. She was calling him in for a bath... at a surprisingly early hour. Normally, he would go in for a bath when it was dark out, but the sun was still setting this time. Daniel groaned, "Aw maa," he pleaded, "Couldn't I wait for dark as usual?"  
His mother took a low tone, "I want you in that tub in five minutes, or you'll be going to bed early. Is that understood?"  
He sighed; he was used to these lectures, his mother formally in the state military as a second lieutenant. "Yes, ma." he murmured.  
As he began to sulk his way to the door, his sister began to plead with her mother, "But mom, I just got out here and it's still light out! Can't we stay for five more minutes?"  
Their mother shook her head, her brown locks drifted over her shoulders. She looked at Naomi and stated "You stay by the shed, am I understood? I'll be there to let you in right away."  
Naomi shuddered "Y-yes, mom." They have always known that the shed was strictly off limits. They did not understand their mother's sudden change of behavior at all, but they obeyed her orders immediately.

Daniel, reaching the front porch, saw his mother open the door for him as he, actually pouty, stumbled in. She glanced at him and growled "Don't you give me that look, Daniel Sullivan!" He pursed his lips as he looked at his mother, but her immediate death glare told him to run upstairs for his life to the tub. He listened as she shut the door tightly behind her.

Closing the door, the seven-year-old mumbled to himself, "Sheesh. What's her problem?" He threw his orange t-shirt on the wooden bathroom floor. The bathtub was ready with warm water, so he proceeded to pull off his dirt stained jeans, but stopped when he noticed something from outside the window above him. Pushing himself onto his toes, the curious boy peered out of the window to see his mother out with Naomi. What surprised him most is that his mother opened the door to the rusty shed, letting his sister in. As a seven year old, he couldn't believe what he was seeing. Daniel could only remember the last time he went into that shed. He remembered his mother nearly blowing her face off, yelling at him. The only thing he did, however, was remove a little bit of white chalk from the floor. After the hard paddling he got, he could not sit down at all without brewing up some tears.

His mother followed Naomi, looking all directions. Daniel, almost being spotted, immediately threw his back against the white wall next to the window. He would have had his hide tomato red if he were not in the tub. However, he could only ponder, "What the heck did Naomi do to be allowed to go in there?"

He immediately began to precede taking off his pants. Rushing to get into the tub, he immediately dipped his feet into the water. Thinking that the water was scalding, he immediately jerked his feet out of the water. "Geez, that's hot!" the boy whined; droplets of water fell from the top of his feet onto the wood floor. Struggling to open the window, he tried to complain to his mother. He poked his head out of whatever he could open, "Ma! The water's too hot!"  
There was no answer from the shed.  
He waited about ten seconds before calling out again,"...Hey ma...?"  
There was still no answer. Daniel continued to stare at the shed, hoping for the door to open... Nothing happened. He looked back at the bathtub, and slowly attempted to put his foot back in the water. To him, the water was still far too hot. He immediately recalled his foot out of the water. Getting impatient, he poke his head out of the window once more.  
"Ma! The water's still hot!"

That's when he noticed the pale glow coming from behind those wooden doors of the shed. It was bright and eerie, yet calm at the same time. Seeming hypnotized, Daniel gazed at the radiance. "What is that?" his mouth was agape at the sight. Wanting to get a closer view, he immediately threw his pants back on. As the curious boy he was, he checked the window to see if that radiant glow still lingered. However, something was different. In fact, it didn't even seem right. The pale glow began to darken to what seemed like a violent red glow. Daniel's eyes were abducted by the view; he couldn't keep his eyes off it, despite that it sent chills down his little spine.

That's when he heard a scream.

It sounded like his sister, screaming from the shed. Something was wrong, terribly wrong. She was usually a chicken about everything and would scream over anything if she were in the dark; however, something felt different though, this sounding something more like anguish or excruciating pain. Out of brotherly instincts, the only thing he could do was run down the stairs immediately. He called out for his sister, "Sis!" as he rushed out the front door. He could hear the wood pound under him as he raced down the front porch, but the pounding of his heart was louder as frightening thoughts about his sister raced through his mind. Was their mother injured behind those doors and Naomi was crying for help? Or was it that mother was possibly hurting Naomi? What if something else was in there, ready to annihilate them both? He had no time to ponder; as the only 'man' of the family, he had to do something about this.

Daniel immediately headed for the backyard. As he continued over towards the shed, he felt like some force of wind was sucking him in. He felt his hair bangs flicker over his icy blue eyes. He called for his sister once more, "Naomi!" The only response he could hear was more of her screaming. Fighting back fear, her brother immediately responded, "Hang in their sis!" Finally reaching the door to the shed, he could feel the energetic winds coming from behind the door, wanting to devour him. His hair was blinding him at this point, covering his face. He kept brushing his hair out of his face as he used whatever force he could to pull the doors open. His bare feet slipped across the grass as he failed continuously to get that door open.

It was no use; the force of the wind was preventing him to pull the doors open. Now scared for the lives of his sister and his mother, he pounded on the doors, wailing. "Somebody open the door!" he pleaded, "Sis! Ma! Open the door!" The wind whipped against his bare back. The only thing he could think of was breaking the door down. He was worried, however, that his little body would not be able to break the wood door down, but that couldn't stop him from trying. Struggling to back up a bit, Daniel crawled a few feet back from the door, the knees of his jeans muddied and stained from the grass. His nails dug into the ground as he pulled himself up. Finally standing, he braced himself as he charged towards the door. Splintering bits of his shoulders, the seven-year-old was able to break down a large portion of the door, which happened to be rotting. He fell to the ground, scraping his sides. He desperately got back up, wiping any chips of wood away from his eyes.

The winds were even stronger, and that red glow from before was now a blinding light at the center of the shed floors. He struggled not to be sucked in to the center. He tossed his head around, in search of his sister. Daniel cried out once more to Naomi, but suddenly froze as he turned towards a heart-striking feature.

Naomi was kneeling at the light, as her arms were both deteriorating. She was screaming from the burning of her arms leaving her body.

Panicked, Daniel screamed as he raced towards his sister. He couldn't spot his mother anywhere near the sight, but she was not important at the moment. He had to get his sister away from that light; there was no other option. Gripping at her waist, he used all strength he could muster. "Sis," he cried out, "Use you legs and push yourself!" Naomi only could respond with a weak wail. The winds shrieked in their ears as they tried to pull away from the light. As Daniel struggled with all his strength, he could feel small portions of his sides being torn away. Whatever was taking his sister's arms was now trying to take a part of him. His fear was reaching to maximum limits; he thrashed about to pull away from the twisted force. His sides were now exploding in pain. Daniel could hardly hear himself scream as the winds were pounding in his ears. His body was becoming cold with sweat and his back numb from the cruel winds. Trying not to lose hope, he gave another pull away from the extreme force.

What came over him, no one knows aside from the assumption of adrenaline; he toppled over, his sister in his arms. He was able to pull her out of the light. Her arms were completely gone. Blood stained Daniel's jeans as it gushed out of what was left of Naomi's arms, that not even being the shoulders. At the same moment the light faded and the winds died. However a shock was still in the air as a haze covered the whole shed. Daniel could hear the electrical waves as he tried to gain back his ground. The only thing on his mind was his sister's condition. She was unconscious and bleeding everywhere. He choked from his fear, looking at the scenery...

"Oh my god..." He whimpered, clinging to his sister. "Sis!"

She slumped motionless, Daniel could smell the blood.

Mom, where was mom? Daniel struggled as he picked up his sister to search for his mother in the thick haze. More blood gushed from his sides as his sister's weight forced him down.

"Ma!" Daniel wailed.

There was no answer. The only thing he heard was the electrical current in the air.

"Ma! Where are you!?"

Still no answer. Daniel coughed as he swayed the haze out of his way. Panicking, he toppled over something. He clung to his sister to defend her from the fall. The soil stuck to the bloody stains of his jeans; he slowly got up. The sweat and the dirt stung his sides. Looking to see what it was, he froze, his breath stopped at the sight, as the haze slightly cleared up.

His mother laid face down in a lake of red. Her brown hair was soaked in the blood. She was motionless. Daniel's eyes widened as his fear-struck heart came to a sudden stop.

"Oh my god!" He set his sister down immediately, racing to his mother. He shook her by her shoulders.

"Ma! Wake up!"

Aside from his violent shaking, the woman showed no signs of life. Choking sobs, the boy grabbed his mother's hands.

"Ma!"

The boy began to tremble as he could slowly feel the warmth of his mother's hands leave. Within a few moments, she was cold, no longer a part of this earth.

Knowing there was nothing he could do, streaming tears, Daniel stumbled towards his sister. He broke down crying, clinging to his sister. Even the remaining shock waves could not beat the wails of anguish. He had to rest; he had lost all strength within him now. He rested his sister's head on his bruised shoulders. She was now his only family left. She was still warm, but it probably wouldn't last for long. Scared and helpless, Daniel put his hand over his sister's head. "Everything's gonna be okay, sis." He stammered. Even he had a hard time believing himself. Mother was dead, and his sister could possibly be dying in his arms. Everything was going wrong. "Dammit..." he whimpered, "It can't be like this!"

The haze was fading and the scene more gruesome. As the shock waves quieted down, Daniel could hear gasping breathing not too far behind him. His eyes flickered; could it possibly be that mother was still alive? Daniel turned his head, but to his sudden surprise it was not mother. She still laid in her pool of blood. He shuddered looking at her, more tears dwelling in his eyes, "My god..." he tried to cover his eyes with his other arm, but something else caught his eye. In the dying haze he could see a pale arm stretching out into the clearer air. _"Is that..." _Daniel squinted as the thoughts ran through his head, _"Could those be Naomi's arms?" _ He continues squinting for a clearer view. "That can't be... Those seem too masculine for her arms..." the fog was slowly clearing up, he could slowly catch a better view as he trailed the anatomy of the arm.

What he was seeing was more than he could take.

Rib cage split open;

Heart pounding;

Massive violet eyes glowing;

Pitch-black hair resting in blood;

The pale skeletal figure laid on it's back, partially deteriorated and gasping for air.

It couldn't possibly be human.

Daniel's eyes widen, not being able to keep his eyes off the thing. He screamed for mercy, to shield his eyes from such a horrific sight. Blood rushing to his head, his sight began to fade as he blacked out. It was more than his body could take.

This was the moment his story would unfold into an adventure.


	2. Part 1

"Hey Danny

"Hey Danny! Hurry up already!"  
"Will you shut up? I'm fried over here!"  
"You didn't put that sunscreen on like I told you, didn't you!"  
"I said shut **up**!"  
On a sandy dune, a girl about sixteen years old was tapping her foot. She had black hair almost reaching down to her shoulders and four slick sets of bangs across her blue eyes. A black leather vest covered her teal spaghetti top. Her vest contained a small red symbol of a cross being constricted by a snake with wings; that being the symbol of the alchemist. Her tight denim shorts prevented her from overheating, as her white legging skirts prevented sunburn to her lower legs. However, her most noticed feature was her two steel arms.

Meanwhile, buried ankle deep in the sand, a young male with shoulder-length black hair with a hint of dark brown, stumbled to reach his sister. His pale skin was now pink and flaky due to sunburns. He wore a black tank top, covered by a small red jacket with gold colored outlining. His tight denim khakis were carrying sand out of each step he took. Hard to believe, but this young man had wide hips and unbroadened shoulders, making him look extremely feminine. Sweat dripped over his blue eyes. His bangs, soaking in sweat, covered his right eye and good portion of the left side of his head. Finally catching up to the young woman, he placed his hands on his knees, gasping for air.

His sister crossed her steel arms. "You know, Daniel, if you didn't wear all that long-sleeved stuff, you wouldn't be getting so hot so easily! I mean, for goodness sake's, you're wearing girl pants!"

Daniel immediately snapped back "Shut up, Naomi! Those 'girl pants' as you call them, are actually _comfy_! Besides, all this stuff is keeping me from getting sun burnt!"

Naomi sighed, "You know, you could always use sunblock..." She pulled a small baby-pink bottle of sunscreen from one of her inner vest pockets, waving it in his face.

"C'mon sis," Daniel whined, "you know I hate that stuff! It smells so nasty, and then it gets in my mouth!"

Irritated, Naomi smacked the tip of her brother's head. "You are such a baby!"

Trying to make a comeback, Daniel shouted back, "Baby?! Says the one who would cry over everything as a kid, be it asparagus to dark rooms!"

Peeved and unable to make a comeback, Naomi pulled off the first idea that reached her head. She immediately clonked Danny on the head with her first.

Daniel howled, covering his welting head. "Naomi! What the hell?!"

Naomi took a run for it. Daniel immediately chased after her. He pulled his sleeves up, clenching his fist and sent them flying at his sister.

"Hey! Get back here, Naomi!"

"Whaddya gonna do!"

"Hold still and I'll show ya!"

"Danny, we're never gonna reach Rush Valley if you keep this up!"

As Daniel continued to pursue his sister in zigzags, a mirage of a small city could be seen in the distant miles.

Within a couple of hours, the two teenagers were both panting and sweating from a long chase in the blazing desert into the heart of the city, Rush Valley.

Danny wiped his brows, but immediately jerked his hands from his sun burnt face. He tried to block the sun from his face with his arms. He swallowed for some liquid source in his throat. "Good god, I'm beat... Why'd we have to freakin' run the whole way here?"

Naomi, peeved as she was, immediately responded, rubbing the back of her sweaty hair, "Because you're so stubborn...?"

Her brother's eye twitched at his sister's remark, "You know, if you didn't clonk me on the head-"

She cut him off, "Oh, shut up already... Sheesh you really need to grow up."

Daniel positioned himself to slug her arms, "You asked for it now!"

Ramming his fist towards her arm, he tried to stop midway, but he was too late.

His fleshy fist crashed into her steel arms.

Danny's hands, especially the knuckles, were now swelling in pain.

He fell to the ground, almost wailing.

Naomi threw her hands up in the air, "Do you see what I mean now, Danny!? You are far to rash!"

"Shut up!"

Their conflict immediately ended when a voice from down the street could be heard.

"Hello? Can I help you two?"

Ending their reckless behavior, The squabbling siblings stared down the street. To their surprise, a man behind a kiosk was waving nervously at them. The twins' eyes began to sparkle at the idea of water, soda, or some kind of liquid to quench their dying thirst! They were charging immediately towards the small kiosk. Daniel immediately slammed his hands on the counter, "DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING TO DRINK?! I'M DYING OVER HERE!"

Naomi slapped her brother over the head again, "Danny, don't be so rude!" She looked back at the rather frightened man, waving her hands midair. "I'm sorry about this idiot, but we came from Central and our Taxi broke down half way back. Do you have any drinks?"

"Ohoho! So you two came from Central eh?"

The two nodded as the waiter was washing dishes. He turned around towards the two, leaning against the counter, "So what can I get you two?" He pulled a piece of paper out of his black apron and a pencil from behind his ear, looking at Naomi.

Naomi rubbed her steel fingers against her pale chin, looking at the menu written on the wall.

"Hmmmm... I think I'll just take a orange soda..."

The waiters pencil glided elegantly against the paper. "Good choice, mam'." He took a glance at Danny, "And what can I get you, lil' missy?"

The air became unnaturally still around Daniel. If there was anything that totally pissed him off, it was the constant badgering of people mistaking him as a young girl because of his shoulders and hips. Furious, Daniel grabbed his victim by his dark green collar, throttling him ferociously.

"YA WANNA CALL ME A MISSY AGAIN, YOU LAME EXCUSE FOR A MAN?! ANYTHING ELSE YOU WANNA CALL ME?! WOMAN?! FEMALE?! GIRL?! C'MON SAY IT TO MY FACE!!"

His sister tried to yank him away from the terrified waiter, "Daniel! Calm down! He's not trying to insult you!"

"HE CALLED ME A _GIRL_, SIS! HOW CAN THAT **NOT** BE AN INSULT?!"

"TAKE OFF THE GIRL PANTS, AND WE'D BE ABLE TO TELL, STUPID!"

"WHO YOU CALLIN' STUPID, STUPID?!"

Naomi smacked her brother over the head once again. Daniel was now getting weak from the amounts of blows against the head, especially with an iron hand. He dropped the waiter immediately.

Petrified, the waiter stared at Daniel, "A...Anything I can get you... S-sir?"

Daniel rubbed his forehead, and jerked away once more from the sunburns. He continued to stare at the chalky menu, and finally mumbled. "I'll take some milk, please."

Shaking, the waiter stumbled away to gather the drinks to his customer. Naomi scoffed as soon as he left. "Geez, Danny," she murmured, "You don't have to go in an outrage every time someone mistaken you for a woman. I mean, you really need to get some decent exercise if you actually want to look like a man."

"C'mon, Naomi!" he threw his hands up in the air. "You know I hate it, of course I'm gonna pound it in their heads that I'm a guy!"

His sister sighed. "You even act like a girl sometimes..."

Trying not to start up another argument, Daniel turned his head, checking the view of the city. He paused for a moment and spoke randomly, "So..." He mumbled, "you know what this city is known for, anyways?"

She answered, "Well, from what I heard, this is like some kind of auto-mail haven." She raised her arm towards to sun as if grasping for it. "I think they made my set of arms somewhere around here... I might check it out as soon as were done here, just for fun."

Her brother tapped his fingers on the counter, "Well, before you go goggling all over this stuff, just remember what we really came here for..."  
Naomi sighed, "Yes, I know, were here to see if the military guy here's gonna let us join the state."

Danny corrected her, "It's Lieutenant Vytas Vaznelis. I doubt he's gonna like us calling him 'military guy'."

Kicking her feet, she replied "Vytas Vaznelis? That sounds like an odd name..."

The waiter finally came back. The glasses shone brightly in the light. Daniel couldn't keep his eyes off the milk.

"Here ye go, people." The waiter put the milk before Daniel as the orange soda to Naomi, "Omigod, it's fresh milk!" His blue eyes sparkled, his gloved hands trembled in his excitement, "it's so beautiful..."  
Naomi stared awkwardly towards her brother, "Danny... It's milk."  
Daniel responded, his eyes streamed tears of joy, "You know nothing of the magnificence of milk! Milk is what keeps my bones beautiful. Milk is what keeps my bones strong for battle. Milk is what keeps my good looks..."  
Naomi tried drinking her soda as her milk-fanatic brother continues rambling on about the 'magnificence' of milk.  
Within minutes, both glasses were "That's three dollars, please."

Naomi reached for her pockets, when a panicked look came across her face. _'Oh crap, where's the money?'_

Daniel did not like the look upon her face._ 'She forgot the money again, didn't she?' _He took another look at her, who was panicking at this point, and then he sighed. He knew exactly what this was going to be leading to:  
A good three hours working in the kitchen of another restaurant, trying to pay off the debt.  
Within a few minutes, the twins were dragged into their fate in front of the kitchen sink along with a mountain of dirty dishes.

The two could not help but stare at the massive pile.  
"Do these guys clean their dishes only once a month?!" Naomi's lower jaw dropped at the mountain.  
Daniel, trying not to complain (which these moments were rare) took off his white gloves, which he had a transmutation circle on each glove, and began collecting a small potion of the dishes and began running water in the sink. His face could not lie, he was definitely pissed off about the consequences of forgotten money. He sighed, "You know, this probably would not have happened if someone didn't forget to bring the extra money..."  
"Shut up..." Naomi snapped. She picked up her small portion of dishes, picking up a wet washcloth.  
"Eh, whatever..." Danny murmured; he began wiping portions of food from the plates. Dunking another washcloth in soapy water, he cleaned off his portion of dishes, one by one.  
Aside from the clinking and clanging of dishes being washed and put away, there was silence for a good hour or so. Both concentrated diligently on their dish duties. The waiter stood before them, supervising their every move. Washcloths hanging at the edge of the sink dripped water onto the floor.

Daniel's fingers were pruning terribly from constant soaking and his arms sore from washing, as his sister's auto-mail finger joints were beginning to lose their oil, making them creaky. However, the once-mountainous pile of dishes had died down to only a few plates.  
"Just a few more to go, you two," The waiter crossed his arms, "I've got some customers to serve, so these dishes better be done by the time I finish up with them."  
As the waiter left to the front of his kiosk, the sixteen year duo sighed.

"C'mon sis," Danny gathered up his final share of the dishes, but instead of washing them, he placed them at another side of the sink counter.  
Naomi, confused slightly, stared at her brother as he reached for his ankle. Out of one of his socks he pulled out a piece of chalk.

Realizing what he was about to do, Naomi hesitated, but spoke up, "Danny, I don't think that's such a good idea!"  
Drawing a circle and within it, strange patterns of simple shapes, Daniel responded, "Why? Now that I thought of it, I think it would go a lot quicker and less painful if we did it this way. Hence, I will transmute these dishes."  
Naomi threw her arms down, "Danny, you know what happened last time we did something like that! I don't wanna spend another hour trying to clean up another mess!"  
He rolled his eyes, "Look sis, I'm telling you, last time I used the wrong transmutation circle! Besides, it's not my fault all the dishes shattered!"  
Naomi's eyes widened at her brother's stubbornness, "Are you kidding me? You're the one who made the transmutation!"  
Danny snapped back, "Just shut up and watch!" He placed the dishes on top of the circle. Taking some steps back, he cracked his knuckles. He pressed his hands against the edges of the transmutation circle.

A radiant beam emerged from the designed patterns as an small explosion occurred where the plates used to be. The waiter, hearing the commotion, marched in on the two, demanding to know what was going on, his gray moustache twitched. To his surprise, the disruptive noises had misled him. Expecting to see a disaster, the waiter gazed upon the shimmering clean dishes. His mouth agape, he stared at the twins, astonished.  
"H-how'd the hell you two do that?!"

Naomi, grinning, rubbed the back of her hair, "Actually, that's pretty easy. It's just some simple alchemy."

The waiter rubbed his hands together, "Ya don't say..."

Daniel spoke up, "Yup, we're alchemists; were hoping to get into the military here pretty quick."  
The waiter placed his hands over his waist, "Well, I'll be damned… I ain't seen youngster alchemists like you for quite some time 'ere."

Danny chuckled, but wanted to get down to information. "Would you by any chance-"

Some laughing behind the counter of the kiosk cut him off. Tilting his head to get a view, he spotted a man in his mid-thirties, rubbing his pale forehead, chuckling at Daniel's remark. He had pitch-black hair that was slicked back. He was cloaked in a dark desert robe, red lines racing down his sleeves. A thick brown leather collar covered his neck.

Daniel was a little peeved at the man's cockiness, "Hey, what's so funny?"

The man's icy blue eyes glared at him, as he smirked, "What makes you think that military is going to take in a couple of runts like you? Just because you know some alchemy does not mean they'll take you in. Everybody knows that."

Daniel snapped back, slamming his fist down against the kiosk counter, glaring him eye to eye. "What's that supposed to mean?"  
Not even remotely surprised by the sudden outburst, the man continued to mock him. "So tell me kid, do you know anything about being a dog of the military? Do you have the guts to kill even a child without hesitation?"  
Daniel hesitated to answer. Who was this guy?  
"Answer me, kid. Do you really think you're ready for the military?"  
Daniel could not get himself to answer the question. The man brought up some very good points. He has always been assuring of himself that he was ready for the military up until now.

The man chuckled, "...That's what I thought..." He rose from his seat, "Then again, why am I surprised. You humans are a foolish breed; I should have expected something like this. You get a small taste of power and you think you can control the universe…"  
Daniel gazed blankly as the man turned his back, leaving the kiosk. He stretched his back, walking down a lone alley.  
Naomi couldn't help but stare either. The only thing running through the twins' minds were "Who was that guy?"


	3. Part 2

'Who was that guy

'Who was that guy?'  
Daniel kept spacing off. He didn't know he was just angered from the man's taunts, or if he was stunned from his points. Either way, he was dazing into nothing.  
"... Earth to Danny? Hello?"  
He suddenly blinked back to his senses when he noticed a auto-mail arm was waving in front of him. His sister was now standing in front of him.  
She poked his forehead "You were dazing off a bit there. You okay?"  
Danny flinched, almost forgetting about his sunburns until then.  
"Oops! Sorry Danny!" She began patting his forehead lightly in atonement.  
However, Danny wasn't too amused. "In that case, please stop touching me."  
"Well, sheesh!" Naomi crossed her arms, a tad bit offended by his snappy response.  
Ignoring his pouting sister, Daniel immediately refocused on his main reason for being here: Lieutenant Vytas Vaznelis.

"Anyways," he faced the waiter, who discovered one of his customers went missing. "I'm looking for Lieutenant Vytas Vaznelis. Would you happen to know where to find him?"

The waiter scratched his what was left of his gray hairs, "Mr. Vaznelis, eh? I see the lad here occasionally. Same order here every time: Green Tea."

Daniel interest grew more in Vaznelis' where a bouts.

"So you know where this guy lives?"

The waiter was about to respond until a small squeak could be heard in the distance.

"H-hey you! Get back here!"

The waiter's moustache twitched, "Well speak of the devil... That's gotta be him."

Looking down the street, Daniel and Naomi could see a stubby military officer tailing down what looked like a tall muscular man. People jumped out of the way of the man and the pursuing officer. The bulky man's mane of hair thrashed in all directions in the chase. The dog tag around his neck beat on his chest.

As they came close, the waiter sighed, "They're at it again..."

Naomi stared at the chasing duo and stared back at the waiter in her confusion, "What's that supposed to mean?" She curled her fingertips in her hair.

The waiter responded, "It's them damn chimeras... Always wreckin' up the place."

Danny twitched; he had heard of creatures like these: humans or animals that have been combined with other animals by alchemy, but he thought he'd never see one in a lifetime.

The waiter continued on, "About a year ago, we were gettin' chimeras all over the place; ain't got a clue where they're comin' from anyways. The military sent Mr. Vaznelis over to these parts to deal with the problem about half a year ago."

Danny raised an eyebrow as the officer squeaked at the fleeing chimera, "He... sure don't look like much..."

The waiter sighed, "Well, he ain't been much help, 'fraid to say... I gotta admit, he can run two miles straight but he can't catch up to the little suckers. He did manage to catch a few chimeras though."

Out of curiosity, Naomi asked, "Which ones?"

"... A turtle and an alligator."

The siblings stared in awe at the failing lieutenant. The three could see him draw closer, squeaking, "Aw c'mon! Gimme a break!"

Daniel sighed, pushing his hands towards Naomi, "Back up a bit, sis."

The two drew closer; Daniel lunged towards the raging chimera. His clods could be heard pounding against the ground.

"Hey, you punk! What the hell are you doing?!" The chimera roared.

Daniel kept on charging towards the chimera. Naomi stared at her brother, who didn't seem to know what he was doing.

"Hey Danny, you know what you're doing?"

Danny, dumbfounded, did not have the slightest idea of what he was doing, as he bluntly and out of instinct charged into the chimera.

Bodies collided and tumbled across the gravelly dirt road. Naomi's eye twitched at the sight of the mangled bunch.

Lieutenant Vaznelis brushed his scruffy beard as he tried to get up, "Sheesh..." he dusted off his hair, "What was that all about?" The ground underneath him felt rather velvety. He rubbed his eyes, to figure he wasn't on ground: He was now on top of a trampled teenager. Unfortunately, his target had now taken a turn and escaped from his pursuer. Danny idea of tackling the chimera to the ground was an epic failure, as Lieutenant Vaznelis tripped over the boy. Vaznelis stared down at the boy he landed on and immediately replied, "Oh! Salve!"

The waiter sighed, "Looks like we lost it, but it looks like you got who your looking for." He rubbed his wrinkled forehead.

Naomi couldn't believe it, "Danny, you idiot! You let that chimera escape!"

Danny's voice was muffled under the Lieutenant. "Shut up!"

Naomi smacked her palms against her head, "You are unbelievably stupid, Daniel Sullivan. Unbelievably stupid."

He snapped back, "I said shut up!"

His sister scoffed, "Is that the best comeback you can come up with?!"

"Oh yeah? Well, your mom's a hamster-brain!"

"She was your mom too, you know!"  
"Damn it, sis!"

" 'Scuse me, but ummm..."

The siblings subsided in the argument, looking at the young lieutenant. Lieutenant Vaznelis got off the mangled teenager, brushing the dirt off his uniform. Danny grumbled about how dirty his pants were, attempting to scratch the dirt off his velvet jacket.

"Did you say you were looking for me?" The lieutenant asked politely.

Danny, brushed down to whatever he could get off, spitting dirt out of his mouth, replied, "Actually, I was looking for you."

The Lieutenant cocked his head to the left, "Eh? What the heck you want from me?"

The teen immediately fell to his knees, begging the lieutenant, "Please! If you can, I want to join the military?"

There was a long pause, Vaznelis twitched, "Ummm... What was that?"

Naomi berated at her brother, "You just took his chance to get a chimera and now you ask him to let you join the military? You really are a moron!"

The lieutenant stared blankly at Daniel. "Well, errr... actually... I'm not exactly at authority to do that..."

Daniel paused, his mouth agape. His eyes slowly turned to Vaznelis, bewildered. "Huh? What was that?"

He replied back to the boy, "Well, you see here, I'm only a first lieutenant. I can't just allow people to join the military, you know, especially kids! Besides, I don't think you would be eligible to be a military officer."

Daniel heart began to sink at the refusal, what the hell as that supposed to mean?" I... I don't get what you're saying, man!"

Vaznelis rubbed his forehead, "Bah, I'll explain everything at my headquarters. You two aren't from here, right? Since most of the hotels are full, I'll just have you two stay at my place until then."

His 'headquarters' wasn't all that much, but it was better than nothing. The twins sat in front of his desk; that being, a unstable wooden desk full of old files and papers. Naomi's chair squeaked as she moved around for comfort.

_'This guy could really tidy up the place'_ she pondered.

Daniel sat completely still, a bit stunned from the refusal of his request. He was surprised, upset, and confused at the same time. He didn't understand what he did not have that other men did have.

Mr. Vaznelis spun in his tattered leather whirly-chair, direct eye contact at the siblings, "Ehhh... sorry about the mess." He chuckled, scratching the back of his brown hair, "Having an office isn't the cheapest thing in Amestris, so I had to use my own house." He rubbed his hands together, grabbing for a pencil; however, being a clumsy oaf he was, the lieutenant tipped over a can full of pencils, clattering to the floor. After flailing his hands forward with a squeak, he immediately picked them up. The siblings couldn't help but stare at the lieutenant.

When he was finally reorganized, he brushed himself off, "Now, where were we?" His eyes glanced at the stunned boy, and his memories aided him, "Ah, that's right. Well, about that kind of request; first off, we can't just take anyone into our military just like that, I hope you know."

Daniel spattered, "Look, I understand that much, that's why I'm asking you to let me take the State Alchemist test!"

The lieutenants eye's boggled at the determined Daniel, "Wh-what was that? Did you say the state military?"

He grinned, nodding at Vaznelis, "Exactly, which is why I am requesting permission to take the test!"

Vytas Vaznelis sighed, "Look, I'm sorry, but I'm not in charge of that! Besides, what on earth do two kids like you want with the military?"

Daniel couldn't answer precisely. He wasn't exactly sure he knew why. He stuttered to answer, but no words came out.

Huffing, the lieutenant gathered some papers, cleaning off his desktop, "I really don't think you know what it means to be in the military. It's not all excitement and adventure like those radio shows and comics display it as."

Danny opened his mouth, trying to reply, but Vaznelis cut him off. "If you ask me, I honestly think you two are too young to experience the true meaning of joining the military."

Daniel growled under his breath, _"So it's the same crap that other guy gave me..."_

Vaznelis sighed, shuffling papers into small folders, "Sorry kid, but I just don't think you're ready to join the military. I hope you understand that."

Daniel paused for a moment, his heart sunk. Sighing out the words, he replied, "Yes sir..."


End file.
